However, they are quite expensive and don’t fit in my tiny handmade watercolour travel kits.

Therefore, when I was doing a bit of birthday shopping last year in MUJI (see my haul here) I was excited to have the idea of using a lip brush (make-up tool) as a portable retractable watercolour brush!

MUJI LIP BRUSH approx £6 – a bit pricey! Surely I can find a cheaper one on eBay?

Yes, yes I could! I found these colourful, bling-tastic ones for the bargain price of 99p for 4!

The nail art brushes claim to be sable, but I suspect that they are synthetic (see comparison photo above). They perform well, though, with no hairs falling out and it keeps its point. A pleasure to paint with!

They are called “marble” because of the purple plastic marble design barrel with the size on it. This is one of the only things I do not like about these brushes, so I am trying to think of ways to disguise or replace it!

The only other downside is that on arrival they are not all perfect. Lids are often ill-fitting; too loose or too tight – likewise with the marble barrel. However, I was able to fix them all by twiddling around gently with my jewellery pliers!